Hose supporter



April 26, 1938.

E. H. REED HOSE SUPPORTER Original Filed May 3l, 1934 INVENTOR.

ATTORNE Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATES HOSE SUPPORT'ER Everett H. Reed, Detroit, Mich., assignor of onehalf Vto Ruth M. Olds, Detroit, Mich.

Application May 31, 1934, Serial No.'l28,227 Renewed March 9,v 1938 3 Claims.

, This invention relates to hose supporters, .and has for its principal object to provide a -new and improved construction for such devices whereby greater comfort for the wearer is assuredV and, of even more importance, pressure is avoided on any part of the wearers leg where the blood carrying canals, i. e. veins or arteries, are sufficiently close to the surface to be affected by supercial pressure to such an extent as would result in retarding or checking the circulation. The usual type of mens garters consisting of an elastic band worn just above thecalf of .the leg exerts considerable superficial pressure that tends to retarder check the bloods circulation through thesub-surface canals, so that in many cases serious varicose .conditions are brought about.

The present invention has for its object to provide a mans hose supporter which will maintain the wearers socks in a neat, fully extended, smooth condition without producing any objectionable or harmful pressure on the wearers leg, and which, moreover, will have marked advantages from the standpoint of ease and comfort for the wearer.

The above and other objects will appear more fully from the following, more detailed description, and by reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, and wherein Fig. l is a front elevation showing the manner in which the hose supporter is adapted to be worn; the gure showing in dotted lines the outline of a sock and the manner in which it is supported; Y

Fig. 2 isa central, longitudinal section on an enldarged scale through the hose supporter clasp, an

Fig. 3 isa section through the elastic anklet and supporting member.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a modified form of the hose supporting clasp and Figs. 5 and 6 are sections on the lines 5 5 and 6-,-S ofrFig. 4.

As shown in the figures the numeral I6 'indi-V cates a vertically extending supporting member preferably constructed of a thin sheet of substantially rigid material such as Celluloid, or other suitably transparent or flesh colored material. The termrigid, employed to describe the characteristic of the member lll, is however used in a relative sense to distinguish from material such as the usual elastic webbing commonly'eniployed for hose supporters or garters, the member I0 being made from a relatively thin plate of material, has sufficient lateral flexibility to enable it to conform and lie closely adjacent to thev wearers leg, but the material has sufiicient rigidity to remain in an 'upright vertical position and withstand the pull placed upon it in supporting a sock.

At its lower end the member I0 terminates in Van enlarged end IDa, which, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, is provided with a small aperture II adapted to receive the hooked end of a small, preferably metallic, hook I2. Suitably secured to a transverse slot I3 in the hoek I2 is one end Y of Van elastic anklet I4,Ythe other end of the anklet I4 is passed through a pair of spaced slots I5-I6 provided in the enlarged end I0a in the mannershown in Fig. 3.

The way in which the anklet is passed through the slots I5-I6 enables the size of the anklet to be adjusted in a manner that will be readily understood. The .anklet -is preferably made long enough so that the free endV Uia thereof will project beyond the slot I6 far enough to extend under the endV of the hook I2 and to serve as a shieldbetween said hook and the skin of the wearer, thereby preventing contact of any metal with the wearers skin.

At its upper end the member I0 has slidably secured thereto a clasp I1 preferably made of spring metal suitably plated or otherwise treated to prevent oxidation or rusting thereof. -The clasp I'I comprises a main body portion I1a having a pair of ribs or bars IIb struck out therefrom; .the spacing of the bars IllJ from the main -body portion I'Ia of the clasp being such as to provide a guideway or slideway into which the vertical supporting, member I0 is adapted tor t with a neat sliding fit. The clasp I'I also inf cludes a spring clamping finger IIc which is bent downwardly and terminates at its lower end in an outwardly projecting nib I'Id. Immediately adjacent to the nib I'ld the finger IIC is provided with a small transverse rib I'Ie which is in alignment with the slot formed in the body IYIaL of the clasp by the striking out therefrom of the low' ermost rib I'Ib.

The inherent elasticity of the spring nger VI1c causes the inner face of the rib IIe to press tightly against the front face of the vertical member I0, thereby to hold the hose supporting clasp in adjusted position along the member I0. As will be seen from Fig. 2 vthe outwardly projecting nibY IIL of. the clasp provides means for releasing the pressure of the spring iinger or tongue I'Ic uponV the vertical member I0.

The manner in which the follows:

The anklet III is adjusted to the proper size by sliding it through the slots I5-I6 and so that it will t neatly upon the wearers leg just above the ankle joint so that the enlarged rounded end Ilia of the member il) ts into sulci formed by the tendonof Achilles either on the inside or outside of said tendon at the .discretion-of the wearer. It is not necessary, however, to adjust device is used is as the anklet so that any appreciable pressure Yis.

exerted on the anklet, in fact, it is preferable to avoid such pressure. The anklet I4 having been adjusted to the proper size, it is placed upon the Wearers leg just above the ankle 'and the hook I2 is engaged within the eyelet or aperture II, the vertical member I@ preferably being placed to extend upwardly along the Wearers leg. The hose or sock I8 is then donned and the clasp I'I is adjusted vertically on the member I 0 in a proper position to hold the sock fully extended. f The upper end of the sock is then engaged underthe spring nger I'Ic which ymay be' accomplished merely by pushing the end of the sock under the nib I Id until it is engaged by the rib I'IE and clamped between said rib and the member III. If desired the insertion of the sock into the clasp may be facilitated by placing the finger under the nib IId and pulling the spring finger outwardly in a manner that willv be readily understood.

After the sock has been Yengaged under the Y spring finger I'Ic it will be noted that the material of the sock is pressed by the rib I'Ie through the slot adjacent the rib I'Ib into'engagement with the upright I0, the textile material of the sockv serving by its frictional contactV with the member I I3, to prevent longitudinal movement of said member along the vertical support. 1

'I'he hose supporting clasp in modified form shown in Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, is somewhat sirnpler from thestandpoint'of. manufacture than that shown in Figs. l Yto 3. The vmodified clasp, indicated generally by the reference character ITI! has a spring tongue VIllia which terminates in a projecting nib I'IIld. A short distance from the extremity of the nib I'llld lthe spring tongue I'IIJc hasvformed therein a circular depression Illle arranged in alignment with an aperture IIf and through which aperture the depression I'IIJVe serves to press the textile material of the hose into engagement with the upright IU, thereby to assist in holding the hose supporting clasp in vertical adjusted position. The clasp H0 isslidably mounted -for vertical adjustment on the upright I0 in a pair of opposedguideways formed by side flange portions 1101, as shown most clearly in Fig. 6 of the drawing.

As will be seen from the foregoing, a hose supporter constructed in accordance with the principles of -the present invention entirely avoids the use of any tight elastic bands such as characterize the usual mens garters that are Worn just above the calf of the leg at a point where there are numerous veins close to the surface and which contribute largely to serious varicose conditions. The present invention is-also Vto be distinguished from hose supporters of the type having a rigid upright but wherein the lower end `thereof is extended downL into the shoe and around under the sole of the foot, the latter type ofcons'truction being impractical because of the discomfort causedV to the wearerY and the tendency towards producing objectionable callus and irritation. Also suchsupporters necessitate the provision of a jointed member to compensate for movement of the ankle.y With a hose supporter constructed lin accordance with the present invention, as hereinbefore stated, Vitis not necessary'to adjust the anklet so thatit exerts any appreciable pressure, but even if it is adjusted so that it clasps the Wearers leg rather snugly, the veins in thev locality immediately above'the ankle joint areA primarily deep-rather than superficial and consequently are not subject to constriction by positive surface pressure as they are in the region of the calf. c A hose supporter constructed in-accordance with the present invention gives remarkable comfort when in use, the absence of-any tight constricting bands about the wearers leg being n 'quite apparent. At the same time the socks'may has a very low heat conductivity and due to its non-porous properties and glossy surface will not lonly remain in Ya clean sanitary condition, but can be readily cleansed whenever it is desirable.v As the upright may therefore definitely; the only part of the device which will need to be renewedfrom time to time isthe relatively inexpensive small elastic anklet.. n

'Although the anklet I4 has been shown and described as comprising a single piece of elastic material, such as webbing, it will be understood that it is within the Aprinciple of the present invention to construct the anklet partially of elastic material and partially of any suitable nonelastic material. l

While I have described a preferred example of my invention, that has proven highly practical and successful in actual use, it will be understood that many variations, changes and modifications thereof may be resorted to withoutV departing from the principles of the invention.

I claim: I w

l. A hose supporter comprising a thin platelike, substantially inelastic, vertical 'member provided at the lower end thereof with anklet attaching means, an elastic anklet adjustably secured to said meansanda hosiery clasp slidably secured to said vertical member for Vertical adjustment thereon, said clasp including a be used inspring finger, the free end `of which engages saidmember with a yielding Ypressure Yto hold said clasp in its rvvertically adjusted position.

V2. In a hose supporter an adjustable anklet attached to encircle the wearers ankle between the calf and the ankle joint, an upright substantially inelastic vertical supporting member secured to said anklet, means for adjusting vthe size of said anklet and means ,for detachably engaging one end thereof directly with said supporting member and a hose supporting clasp slidably adjustable along said supporting member, said clasp being provided with spring means for clamping the upper end ofA a hose to be supported in extended position by said vertical supporting member.

`3. A hose supporter Vcomprising a vertically extending member, an adjustable strap secured at one end to the bottomof said vertically extending lmember and detachably secured at `the mounted on said vertical member.V

EvEREfr'r n. REED. 

